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It's only been two days since Russian search giant Yandex accused Google of anticompetitive mobile shenanigans, and the country's Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has already leapt into action. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier today that Russia's antitrust body is kicking off a probe investigating how Google requires some smartphone makers to preload its apps onto their devices before they hit store shelves. If those deals are found to have run afoul of Russian law, Google could be on the hook for some hefty fines and might even have to change how it licenses Android to device makers.

It's been a few months since Google launched its YouTube Music Key service, and now we may be finding out how it plans to keep the digital shelves stocked. Musician Zoë Keating blogged last week complaining that YouTube threatened to block her music -- she plays "the cello and the computer" sampling her own sounds as part of the performance -- from streaming unless she signed a 5-year agreement licensing her work for the new service, among other changes. So what's going on? (Other than the usual explanation.) According to Keating, she uses ContentID to track and, if she chooses to, get paid when someone uses her music in their videos. The new contract Google is offering is all-encompassing when it comes to monetization, so to keep ContentID her music will be included in both the free and premium services, the entire catalog will have ads on it, and new music is required to come to YouTube at the same time it arrives anywhere else.

Nokia may have sold its smartphone line to Microsoft, but it held on to one of the crown jewels: its brand. The Finnish company has the world's 98th most valuable name at around $3.2 billion and plans to profit by licensing it to other companies, along with its technology and patent portfolios. In a presentation (PDF) Nokia Technologies President Ramzi Haidamus said that the company is free to lend its name to any non-phone products, as long as "the brand is relevant." There was no mention of the companies it may work with, but Haidamus said that the product would need to look like it was made by Nokia.

Samsung isn't the only Android device maker getting cozy with Google's patents, apparently. LG has just entered into a cross-licensing deal with Google that will let the two companies use each other's patents (including new ones) for the next 10 years. The two sides are coy about just why they've forged the long-term pact, although there are few possibilities. For a start, one or both sides may simply want to borrow the other's features -- a blanket agreement eliminates the chances of lawsuits and simplifies the licensing process. There's also a chance that Google is using the deal to guarantee that LG won't stray too far from the official Android strategy. It's not certain that this is the case, though; unlike Samsung, LG hasn't been in a rush to replace Google software and services with its own. Whatever the motivations, it's doubtful that these companies will duke it out in the courtroom any time soon.

After rumors swirled for months regarding SoundCloud's pending licensing deals with major labels, Warner Music Group is the first to sign on. As part of the agreement, the German audio-streaming site will shell out funds each time one of the labels' songs are spun. What's more, it seems the crux of the deal was that SoundCloud would guarantee it'd be launching its own subscription service -- which is said to happen during the first half of 2015.

As smartphone imaging gets better, the market for point-and-shoot cameras has evaporated. Perhaps sensing this shift in the wind, Canon has signed a patent-licensing deal with Microsoft where both companies will have easy access to each other's technological secrets. Dour-minded individuals may say that this is just some legal mutual arse-covering which is commonplace in these litigious times. That's probably true, but wouldn't it be great if we saw Canon's imaging technology wind up in a future generation of PureView device? After all, the company does need some new expertise after its last expert defected to the other side.

Microsoft's patent agreements with Android and Chrome OS device builders are usually one-sided: the manufacturers sign licensing deals, and Microsoft agrees not to sue them into oblivion. However, the crew in Redmond has just broken with that tradition by forging a cross-licensing pact with Dell. While Dell will still have to pay royalties whenever it sells Google-powered hardware, it's also licensing patents to Microsoft for use in Xbox consoles. Just what the deal means for gamers (if anything) isn't clear. It's safe to presume, though, that Dell can continue to sell Android tablets and Chromebooks without fear of a legal firestorm.

When 500px unveiled its Prime photo licensing store, it stirred up a hornet's nest -- many photographers were outraged that the image host would keep most of the cash from their sales. Give credit to the company for having a change of heart, though. It just launched Prime in beta, and the royalty rates have become much more favorable. While 500px now sells all photos at a $250 flat rate (instead of a $250 minimum), photo owners get 70 percent of that revenue; unless you regularly sell pictures at higher prices, you stand to earn considerably more per shot. You'll have to get an invitation to the beta to give Prime a chance, but the revamped service could be a sweeter deal if you'd make a pittance from rival photo services.

At present, it's tricky to make Windows PCs that cost as little as basic Android tablets and Chromebooks. While Microsoft charges vendors $50 to use Windows, Google often gives its software away. The crew in Redmond may have found a way to narrow the price gap, though. Bloombergclaims that Microsoft is cutting Windows 8.1's license fee to $15 for any device that sells for less than $250, letting builders offer very cheap Windows PCs without destroying their profits. The developer isn't commenting on the reported discount, but this would be a familiar strategy; Microsoft slashed Windows XP's pricing to wipe out Linux netbooks a few years ago. There's no guarantee that the company will repeat its earlier success if the lower Windows 8.1 prices take effect. However, it may feel compelled to act when PC shipments are still declining and mobile OS tablets are on the rise -- the status quo clearly isn't working.

Nokia and HTC have officially put all this patentlitigationnonsense behind them. The two have settled their disputes, signed an agreement to license each others technology, and even decided to explore further opportunities to collaborate. The details are confidential, as they usually are in these circumstances, and the reasoning behind the move are not entirely clear... not that we're complaining. It could be that Nokia and HTC have realized there are competitors out there with deeper pockets and better stocked patent arsenals, and this alliance is simply to protect themselves against other aggressors. Or, it could be that Nokia is trying to get all its legal ducks in a row ahead of the impending Microsoft acquisition. Whatever the impetus, we're just glad that this is one less intellectual property rivalry we'll have to cover.

It may not be the biggest news to come out of Redmond in recent hours. Still, the Windows faithful will no doubt be interested to hear about a licensing agreement involving two pretty notable outfits. Today, Foursquare announced it has struck a deal with Microsoft to use its location data in Bing services and Windows-powered devices. This, naturally, includes search and maps for Bing; and, for Windows, phones, tablets, laptops and desktops -- and yes, convertibles too. In a statement, Foursquare notes that, "in the near future," Microsoft will be utilizing the newly acquired license to enhance its products with "contextually-aware experiences and the best recommendations of any service in the world." That's not it, however, as Foursquare also revealed Microsoft has invested ($15 million) into its socially-driven company, which it says will help the service continue to grow and be accessible by more people.

IBM's the biggest patent holder of all time, and when it comes to defending them, it tries to work things out amicably. That's exactly what's happened with Twitter, after the social giant today announced it has bought 900 patents from Big Blue and entered into a cross-licensing agreement to limit the threat of future lawsuits. The move comes after IBM accused Twitter of infringing three of the company's patents concerning: "efficient retrieval of uniform resource allocators," "presenting advertising in an interactive service" and "programmatic discovery of common contacts." IBM noted at the time that it would rather talk it out instead of lawyering up, while Twitter claimed it could defend itself against IBM's allegations. Thankfully, it didn't move from the boardroom to the courtroom and the two parties have signed a deal that will provide Twitter with "greater intellectual property protection" and "freedom of action to innovate," meaning it's business as usual for users.

We prefer it when companies make devices, not courtroom drama, so it's delightful to see that Samsung has silenced another one of its litigation-frenemies this morning. The company has signed a cross-licensing agreement with former SonybeauEricsson, with a figure of around $650 million being paid up-front, and an undisclosed regular payment to follow. Now that Samsung has appeased both Google and Ericsson, let's hope we can get back to reporting on gadgets, or else we may have to rename this place Enlawsuit.

It's no secret that Google and Samsung need each other given that Samsung dominates Android device sales. It only makes sense, then, that the two companies have just struck a deal to license each other's patents for the next 10 years. In addition to accelerating product research, the agreement should reduce the chances for future patent lawsuits. The move suggests that Samsung isn't keen on burning any bridges -- even if it starts drifting away from Android, it should remain in Google's good books.

Both listeners and uploaders would likely agree that SoundCloud is becoming the main hub on the internet for user-created audio content. However, it seems as if the company may be looking to grow beyond that. According to Re/code, SoundCloud has started approaching "big music labels" in hopes of landing licensing deals for "some of their songs." While a number of copyrighted tunes can already be found on the site (see above), the music labels still have full control and can easily take down any media that isn't supposed to be there. For SoundCloud users, this would signify having access to a more robust library of songs from known artists, while the record companies would benefit by taking a chunk of money in exchange for a licensing agreement. It could be a bold move for SoundCloud, but with investors recently showing they have quite a lot of faith in it, perhaps the service isn't far off from coming to terms with the almighty music labels.

Google Image Search has allowed users to filter results based on how they're licensed since 2009, but the option remained hidden under an advanced options menu where few users ever look. Now, a request by law professor and Creative Commons founding member Lawrence Lessig has changed that. Bing added the option to filter by licensing rights last July with placement front and center, and Googler Matt Cutts tweeted that his company's search engine has a similar option, shown above. Perfect for bloggers in a hurry (cough) or anyone looking to whip up an image for a new meme, it can pick out images labeled for reuse, reuse with modification, or commercial variants of either.

If you're going to horse-trade on patents, it might help to know how much other companies have paid for them, no? Samsung has now been accused of corporate spying for exactly that purpose. The company's legal negotiator, Dr. Seungho Ahn, apparently told Nokia that its terms with Apple "were known to him," despite the fact they were marked "highly confidential -- attorneys' eyes only." This means they should have been for Samsung's outside counsel only, and strictly off-limits for gaining leverage in any negotiations. Court documents show that up to 50 Samsung employees were given non-redacted copies of Apple agreements with not only Nokia, but Ericsson, Sharp and Philips, too. Samsung denied any wrongdoing, saying that "such a violation can only occur willfully" and denied the need for further discovery. Still, US judge Paul S. Grewal ordered Samsung to release selected documents and emails to Apple and provide testimony from Dr. Ahn. The result of that will determine the severity of any sanctions, and perhaps make Dr. Ahn regret another thing he told Nokia: "all information leaks."

Journalists and news consumers alike may be familiar with the Getty name -- Mark Getty founded his namesake stock photography company in the 1990s, and Getty Images is responsible for distributing thousands of photographs every day. But many Southern Californians best know the family for its contributions to the J. Paul Getty Museum, which houses an enormous collection of art at two locations in Los Angeles. It's that latter institution that's making waves today, opening up its digital collection for anyone to view, download, modify and publish, free of charge. The Open Content Program enables access to 4,600 (and counting) high-res images, such as the photograph posted above. The organization's only requirement is that artwork be accompanied by an attribution line, such as the one published below.

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freegettygettymusemimageslicenselicensingphotophotographsphotographyphotosTue, 13 Aug 2013 18:42:00 -040021|20694030http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/07/14/pcr-interviews-blizzard-entertainment/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=WoW&ncid=rss_semi
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The UK-based computer trade news outlet PCR posted a quick interview with Blizzard Entertainment on Friday, July 12th. Interestingly, the interview focuses not necessarily on the digital offerings that we come to expect from a computer-based company, but the retail side of the business, and Blizzard's performances in the more traditional market. Blizzard seems to maintain its success in retail not only because of its games' performance history and market momentum, but also thanks to licensed peripherals which help keep the brand versatile.

Probably the most interesting portion of the interview is the sadly brief discussion of Blizzard's POSA (point of sale activation) cards, known as Battle.net Balance Cards. These cards are similar to the game time cards most WoW players are likely familiar with, but rather than add time to your WoW account, they add money to your Battle.net account in general, which you can use to add time to your WoW game or purchase other Blizzard games and so on.

So far, these cards don't seem to be readily available in the US as in the EU, but I have heard rumors of people finding them in GameStop from time to time, so who knows. For those of you who are wary about using a credit card online, or who just might like other options for adding money to your Battle.net account, they might be worth looking into. You can check out the EU Battle.net Balance Card FAQ for further information if you're interested.

To use NVIDIA's graphics technology, you've typically had to buy gadgets using NVIDIA chips -- good for the company's bottom line, but not for influencing the industry as a whole. The firm is expanding its ambition today with plans to license some of that technology on a broader scale. Beginning with the Kepler architecture, other firms can use NVIDIA's GPU cores and graphics-related patents for their own processors and chipsets. The deal could affect a wide range of hardware, but it mostly pits NVIDIA against the likes of Imagination Technologies: a system-on-chip designer could integrate a Logan-based GPU instead of the PowerVR series, for example. While it will be some time before third-party silicon ships with NVIDIA inside, it's already clear that the company's in-house design is now just one part of a larger strategy.

Music licensors didn't waste any time in characterizing Pandora's acquisition of an FM radio station as an underhanded attempt to cheat performers out of royalties, but the rhetoric has now hit the courtroom, as Broadcast Music Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the streaming service in the New York federal system. Key to the action -- which casts Pandora's move as "an open and brazen effort to artificially drive down its license fees" -- BMI asks for a blanket determination of licensing rates for all music broadcast by Pandora. According to BMI logic, the lower royalty rates that terrestrial providers enjoy shouldn't apply to the online segment of Pandora's business. As the flip side to that argument, however, Pandora argues that it deserves equal footing with online competitors such as Clear Channel's iHeartRadio service, which pays the terrestrial rates. It's a murky decision, for sure. Hopefully the judge has a good supply of Advil.

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bmiinternetradiolawsuitlicensingmusicpandorastreamingmusicFri, 14 Jun 2013 00:59:00 -040021|20621653http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/the-road-to-mordor-could-lord-of-the-rings-online-end-in-2014/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Massively&ncid=rss_semi
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Almost two years ago, Star Wars Galaxies players were rocked to their core by the news that their virtual world was to be sunsetted at the end of the year. Despite obvious SOE love for the title and player petitions, the call was already made: LucasArts didn't want to renew the contract with SOE, and that was that. Because of an IP, an entire galaxy was lost.

It's one of the "cons" of IP-based MMOs. Because there is licensing and contracts and other legal mumbo-jumbo involved, an online game that is completely wedded to an intellectual property has the added danger of being shut down completely if the IP is denied to the studio. SWG is a sobering lesson as to how this can happen to an otherwise healthy game.

If you haven't noticed already, Lord of the Rings Online is somewhat inspired by a certain IP. This IP can survive without the game, but the opposite is not true. So the scary question that we'd rather not ask is this: What if Turbine loses the rights have its game set in the Lord of the Rings universe?

It's not an unreasonable question. And what makes it even scarier is that it could conceivably happen as early as next year.

If you're old enough to have played PC games for more than a decade, LucasArts (originally LucasFilm Games) likely has a permanent place in your heart after a string of legendary adventure and flight combat releases. You'll unfortunately have to put the company as you knew it squarely in the past -- Lucasfilm's new owner, Disney, is ending internal development at LucasArts. The software house is shifting to a licensing model for Star Wars games, reportedly "minimizing the company's risk" while expanding the range of games on offer. There's a chance that in-progress titles like Star Wars 1313 will survive with outside help, according to a spokesperson in touch with GameInformer, but talk of layoffs from Kotaku dampens any chances for direct follow-ups to favorites like Grim Fandango. We won't mourn too much when personas like Ron Gilbert, Lawrence Holland and Tim Schafer have long since moved on to other companies -- still, it's unquestionably the end of an era for game and movie fans alike.

Microsoft believes every Android device maker owes money for (reportedly) using its patents, and it's been striking a lot of matching royalty deals that mostly focus on phone designers. While there wasn't necessarily much doubt, we can confirm today that dedicated camera makers aren't exempt: Nikon just signed a similar deal. Although the terms are once again secret, the agreement will see Nikon pay Microsoft a royalty for "certain" cameras running Android, which likely involves the Coolpix S800c as well as any future shooters. In case you're wondering, Samsung's broader patent license deal already covers the Galaxy Camera. This new pact mostly gives Nikon equal treatment -- and shows that Microsoft casts a wide net.

Kodak has been offloading many of its signature businesses, and we're seeing a another symbolic changing of the guard today: after deciding to quit digital cameras last year, the company is licensing rights to make Kodak-branded cameras to JK Imaging, a subsidiary of global supplier JA Capital Holdings. No, we're not expecting those names to be immediately recognizable, although the Kodak-badged cameras, pocket camcorders and projectors that should result from the deal will be familiar enough. While it's unfortunate that any future Kodak cameras won't come straight from the original source, we won't judge just yet -- after all, similar deals have led to surprising new directions for some of Kodak's competitors.